What have you done to your Festiva today!?

[Greywolf]

can a new guy ask a ? thinking about buying 87 model that should have a carb . right what type of ignition? this would be my first one. need to know are they dependable? easy to fix. are parts easy to get?

This isn't AA, newcomers are allowed to speak! In fact, it's encouraged....

Parts can be a trick, but that's why we network. So far I found all the basics at (any autoparts store) and for things like heads, blocks, all of that - the Mazda B series is so widely spread through a lot of makes and models that other parts are not hard to turn up. Interior parts can be unique, but that's where a certain amount of fabrication skills come in.

The cars themselves are so basic that it's like working on a go kart. It doesn't get much simpler or easy to understand. In fact - as a first car for someone just learning to turn wrenches I can't think of a better one to recommend.

In my world right now, "RED WARRIOR NOW HAS..." a water pump, new belts, a thermostat, a new radiator cap, I still have rear brake shoes I need to install, I've put 35 miles on a shot of SEAFOAM in the oil and have new oil and a filter to install. There is a 1.3L transbox I could install with the old clutch...

And I'm waiting for a FEDEX box from Amazon with a security switch and a starter button to replace the hard to find ignition switch with -
Like this one::
Push Button Switch

The only thing holding it all up is too damned much heat and humidity outside


Funny, remember back in school when the teacher made you write an essay on what you wanted to be when you grew up?
Mine was two words: "A Toymaker"

HOT DAMN! I've arrived...

[Advancedynamix]

VW Cirocco turbofan wheels powder coated KTM orange htd

Whoa! That looks great!

[bwilde]

can a new guy ask a ? thinking about buying 87 model that should have a carb . right what type of ignition? this would be my first one. need to know are they dependable? easy to fix. are parts easy to get?

[Greywolf]

GOT news... I went on a RAID today and bagged a load of "STUFF"

Some good - some GREAT! Here's the run down...

[Hatch]

VW Cirocco turbofan wheels powder coated KTM orange htd

[robotrob]

Is yours a Miata rim as well?

[bravekozak]

My spare is a low profile Yokohama.

[Advancedynamix]

A miata spare fits in just exactly like a festiva one (they are even that pale yellow color!)
Since Miatas are frequently turned into race cars, the spare tires are usually pretty easy to find. They also come with a nice vinyl cover to eliminate squeaks. Pretty trick.

Check the picture I posted above, you can see the yellow spare. That's a miata spare.

[robotrob]

This is a NOS aspire spare

165/70r13... Definately does not fit in the well.. Maybe my Japanese built 87 Mazda is slightly different enough from your Korean built fords?

Lol maybe your aspire spare has really worn tread? Lol

[bravekozak]

robot, I have an Aspire spare in my Festiva. I just cut a larger hole in a fibreboard junkyard cover and installed a plastic junkyard tire insert. When you cover it up, you can't even tell it's there.

[robotrob]

Where did you score your space saver spare from? I've got a 175/70r13 spare that doesn't fit in the well lol

I know 5 door aspire seat belts don't fit 3 door festivas, it would be worth trying 3 door aspire belts, mine is an 87 and we never got automatic seat belts in Australia in ANY car

[Advancedynamix]

The Aspire does have the non autotragic belts. Not sure what needs to be done to use them. Start a seat belt thread in the custom interior and exterior section so we don't clutter this thread too much.

[firebush357]

Those are early model belts (87-89) or any year Canadian/European. They bolt right in. Pedro is an 88, so it came with those, but I swapped from brown to grey.

Oh okay, I have never been in any Festiva older than 1990, I'll have to keep an eye out for some. They look much more tidy and my driver side is stuck in the belted position for reasons I have yet to look into. I'm sure they are a couple pounds lighter too and much more convenient than me having to buckle 2 seatbelts all the time. I have also never been inside of an Aspire, would they have something similar that could be used? Or possibly I could see what it would take to use the old rear ones.

[Advancedynamix]

Those are early model belts (87-89) or any year Canadian/European. They bolt right in. Pedro is an 88, so it came with those, but I swapped from brown to grey.

[firebush357]

I just realized that your seatbelts are different, What is the deal with those? I'm going to take a guess a say they came out of an Escort? What kind of difficulty are we looking at to make that work?